Short Story By: Shruthi M.
Story Cover Design by: Sofia H.
Nineteen-year-old Aiden Stewart did not believe in ghosts, fairy tales, monsters, or any of the sort. He also lived alone in his two-bedroom apartment. So why was he hearing voices coming from his bathroom late at night? And why was the mirror always fogged up in the morning?
He didn’t know. So, Aiden called his ghost-busting friends over and asked them to take a look at what was going on. They were an odd bunch: Sapphire Fraser, ghost hunter extraordinaire; Jack Daniels, the leader and expert; and last but not least, Cate Clark, researcher and lab expert. Together, the four of them bundled up for the night and waited to see signs of unusual activity.
Aiden was nervous. He wanted to believe that this was all a prank, but the way his friends were acting started to change his mind. And even if it was paranormal activity, how could they get rid of it? It wasn’t like a ghost could be hurt with sheer force. Yep, Aiden was terrified and out of his comfort zone.
Around 11:39 PM, the team picked up whispers on their ghost-detecting equipment. Again, the whispers were stronger near the bathroom. Sapphire was about to go charging into the bathroom when Jack stopped her saying they didn’t know what exactly was in the bathroom. It could be dangerous, he argued. Cate interrupted saying she would check it out, and not to worry because she had enough equipment to stay safe. Reluctantly, Aiden volunteered himself to go with Cate. She agreed and the both of them sneaked towards the bathroom, Cate checking her monitor every now and then.
At the door to the bathroom, the whispers were at their loudest, and Aiden could hear the voices a bit clearer. Cate nudged his arm, indicating that they should press their ears against the door. They did it, and listened intently for any clue as to what may be behind the door. No luck. The whispers could have been male, female, one voice, or several. It was too hard to tell. Aiden backed away from the door, but ended up tripping on the carpet and slamming the door with his foot.
The voices went silent. Cate and Aiden hurriedly called Jack and Sapphire for backup and waited. The other two were out of breath when they arrived, and silently Cate described what had happened. Jack looked at the door, back at Aiden, and again at the door. Aiden could tell both Jack and Sapphire were itching to find out what was going on behind that door. So, he surprised himself by striding over to the door and opening it.
There was nothing inside. No voices, nothing. Just Aiden’s phone, which he stared at. Cate looked at Aiden questioningly, motioning for the phone. Aiden hesitated, then grabbed the phone and practically shoved it into Cate’s hands. She rolled her eyes at his antics, then pressed the on button. The screen lit up, with one single text message: lOoK iN tHe MiRrOr :). Cate showed the text to everyone, then handed it to Sapphire. Sapphire tried to text back or fully open the phone, but it didn’t comply.
Jack glanced at said mirror, and made the move to stand in front of it. Aiden grabbed his arm, and said that all of them should do it at once. Cate and Sapphire agreed, and they slowly walked to stand in front of the mirror.
They looked.
There was nothing in it. Relieved, Aiden began to turn around when a hand gripped his shoulder. Cate had grabbed him, her face paler than snow. Aiden gulped and turned back around to view the mirror once more. On it were four people, horribly disfigured: Jack, Sapphire, Cate, and Aiden. The mirror figures smiled at the four terrified people.
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